Josho Adashino
Josho Adashino (上昇化野, Adashino Jōshō; "Risen From the Graveyard"), who is referred to by some as the Demon of Shadows, is a Yatagarasu Yokai, a breed of Raven Yokai with elevated powers, known as the sole Tengu of raven yokai. He was once the a member of a prosperous village of his kind, Samjogo Village, and one of the guardians of a powerful glowing orb of Yoki, which had for centuries been the property of his kind. However, its strength was destroyed by a mighty sea Yokai, who then caused the ocean to rise and destroy the village, leaving Josho the only known survivor. Because of this, Josho has developed a deep hatred of water Yokai, as well as an inherent distrust of water. He is a companion to Seireitou Kawahiru, and one of the main protagonists of the series. Like many demons, at first he seeks the Shikon Jewel, but later allows that goal to take second priority behind assisting Seireitou and defeating Shokujin Tenchikaimei. Appearance In human form, Josho is a man of average height, though slightly taller than most, with spiky gray-black hair that hangs about his head and determined, piercing yellow eyes, which are remarked upon by many as unusual, and almost glow. He wears a blank forehead protector, and basic, rugged pants of a black color. His jacket has hanging sleeves, and only reaches to his chest, revealing his ripped shirt. He also wears some decorative black armor. He has a strong tail, which culminates in a claw, described as his third leg. When in his natural form, he appears as a large humanoid crow or raven, wearing samurai armor, with a yellow jewel on his forehead, and carries a staff with several rings on it. Personality A major trait of Josho's is the bizarre need he displays for fighting. He possesses a deep longing for battle, and will seek out people to destroy, even if it serves no purpose, if he feels the urge to fight. He expresses disappointment and frustration when he can find no powerful opponents in a group, or when someone falls short of his expectations, taunting them in order to purposefully draw out any extra strength. He also shows enjoyment when reminiscing about battles past and done, and anticipation when thinking of a prospective tough battle coming in the future. When he is delayed from a well-anticipated battle, he becomes anxious and restless, often falling into boredom or languor for a time, keeping himself occupied by other means, and sometimes going out to destroy groups of weaker opponents, or to find someone strong enough to be a distraction, to keep him occupied until he can fight the opponent he most wishes to. When he finds a strong enemy, he demonstrates extreme happiness and, in his own words, becomes blissful for a few moments. He is very excited during tough battles, and only becomes more ecstatic the more prowess his opponent displays, even when he himself is direly injured. While he may display surprise, shock, or even some anger, he is never truly afraid or hateful in a normal battle, but rather enjoys it even to the end, whether he wins or loses utterly. He has stated that he does not fight necessarily because he wants to win, but rather for the enjoyment of trading blows with a worthy opponent. Josho is also slightly sadistic, it would appear, as shown by his ruthlessness in battle and enjoyment of his own wounds. However, even when he is sacrificing allies or hostages, he is not completely heartless and cruel, but rather, merely enjoys the challenge of a battle, no matter the damage done to himself or his plans, or the lengths to which he must go to defeat his foe. No matter the issue, any escalation of the battle or in its difficulty merely heightens his levels of joy. He also displays a certain satisfaction derived from displaying his power, be it in battle or merely authority or control. This is shown by his desire to gather his own group, and to conquer others, simply so that he may be in charge, and so that others must bow to him. He also displays joy garnered from the displaying of his own control over his subordinates, as seen when he sacrifices one simply to demonstrate his power, and when he later uses a sacrifice to enrage his opponent so that he might be more easily defeated. This also shows his complete willingness to use any tactics necessary, or even unnecessary, merely to make the battle more interesting, and more difficult. This expression of his own power is also an outlet for his own superiority complex. Despite enjoying battle for its own sake, and not caring, most of the time, whether he wins or is defeated, Josho also displays a psychological need to feel superior, his own superiority complex. He enjoys a defeat as much as a victory, perhaps even more, because it means his opponent is even stronger than he, and spurs him to advance, yet he also feels that he is above them, in one way or another, be it strength, or personality, or style of fighting. This is shown in his first battle with Seireitou. Even after his defeat, he smirked to himself, thinking that the "old fool" had never been half so good as Josho was at his age, though he later grew to respect Seireitou. When proven that an opponent has completely outstripped him without any possible faults to the victory, Josho will fly into a rage against the foe, believing that the nerve of the opponent was unbelievable, and will tell himself that it was a bad day, and that the opponent is a fool for believing he has one, and that his way of victory was not the best possible, and will vow to destroy the foe at any cost. This may develop a rivalry between the two, but more often causes a one-sided vendetta, with him hunting the other down without the other's being aware. He also has an urge to demonstrate his own power, even going so far as to attack and kill a lieutenant of another division simply for the need to demonstrate his ability to overpower him, even if no one would ever know who had done it. His large ego also causes him to have high ambitions, and to desire more power, and to place himself above all others in terms of envisioned overall value. Despite this, Josho still possesses an altruistic side to him, as shown by his wanton disregard of his own life in his willingness to defend a village from Nijūmaru Tenchikaimei, even when it becomes clear that he is no match at all for the prince of the Sea of Japan. He also displays grief and sadness over the loss of his village, as well as a hatred for the unknown yokai that caused its destruction. He also grows close to his comrades, accepting Seireitou as his superior in combative ability, and is willing to fight for them without regrets. History Some years before the start of the series, Josho was a member of a powerful tribe of yatagarasu yokai, one of the few breeds of Tengu that opted not to rule over their more "normal" counterparts or seek dominion, instead living peacefully in a mighty village known as Samjogo Village, by the coast, and sheltered from the inland by small cliffs and a great plain, mostly deserted. Samjogo Village's most sacred treasure was a large orb of pure yoki, created from the energy of ten now-dead daiyokai, which glowed with a tremendous power, and the light of which could cancel out all yoki not of the yatagarasu, causing the destruction of any yokai which entered without the company of an inhabitant. The orb was also revered as a symbol of power, and of friendship with the daiyokai from whose yoki it was created, and so was considered sacred of the utmost degree. However, eventually there came a massive and powerful yokai of the ocean, which was powerful enough to destroy the orb and all its yoki, and having stripped Samjogo of its shield proceeded to destroy the entire village, leaving Josho as the only known survivor, of both his village and species. He then developed a phobia for the sea and its inhabitants, both fearing and despising them. He journeyed inland, and began to search for the Shikon Jewel in order to wish Samjogo Village back to normal. Synopsis Siege of the Sea Arc *The Pendulum Begins to Swing Forward *When Paths Come Together Powers & Abilities Josho, as a Tengu and Daiyokai, is a powerful yokai in his own right, with powers giving him control over shadows and darkness. *'Flight:' The ability to hover in the sky for certain amounts of time, Josho has demonstrated a greater technique, due to his being a raven demon. He can use his wings, which allow him to fly better than most other Yokai. *'Super Speed:' Ability to move at blinding speed in short bursts, Josho can move faster than the eye can see, on land, but especially through the air. When he does this in the anime, he leaves behind a trail of feather-like shadows. He can also immediately close long distances without being noticed by others. In the air, due to his Yatagarasu blood, he can create symbols in the sky made of his afterimages. After his powers increase, he has such speed in the air that he can turn into shadow, allowing him to render himself both invisible and intangible. *'Super Strength:' Josho wields physical strength far beyond that of a normal half-demon; he could lift a massive statue of Inu no Taishou by the throat into the air with one hand, exerting little energy in the process. *'Regeneration:'Josho's powers of regeneration are fantastic, allowing him to recover from almost any wound if given some time. He later shows the ability to convert his shadows to flesh, allowing him to recover in instants what would previously have taken far greater amounts of time, and he can do so with less energy loss. *'Teleportation:' He has the ability to teleport from one place to another. When he does this, a pair of giant shadowy wings rotate around him at his points of disappearance and reappearance. *'Yōki:' As a half-demon, Josho can use Yōki, the name for a demonic aura. It makes all facets of his techniques stronger, to the point where an attack that can destroy a boulder normally, can destroy multiple buildings with Yōki. Josho's Yōki takes on a Black color, with a golden aura, like liquid light, dancing within and around the Black energy. *'Shadow Manipulation:' Josho has demonstrated the power to control shadows, manipulating the shadows of himself, his allies, or his enemies. He later is shown to have complete control, cloaking himself in them as a shield. *'Shishin:' When startled, shocked or frightened, Josho's being fades out of existence automatically, completely vanishing from the normal dimensional plane for roughly ten seconds. *'Fukoyagi:' Josho can cause wounds from contact with his Yoki, and administer deadly poison through contacting his enemy's Yoki with his own. He states that this technique transmutes the nature of his Yoki, allowing it to be used as a weapon. *'Midori:' Josho's tail splits into three bright green tails at the end, which belong to three massive green ravens with a serpentine appearance that are made of pure energy made solid. These can destroy whatever they come into contact with, and have great physical strength as well. *'Sekaihaji:' Josho's third leg can grip any surface or source of energy, allowing him to draw power from it to an extent. If he is killed while his third leg grips this surfade, unless it is destroyed as well his soul is kept alive and he may regenerate from it. *'Shimon:' Josho can unleash an energy from his sword that forcibly "swallows" everything nearby, and destroys it. These energies stay in place when he moves, so that he can use his speed to destroy entire areas with them. *'Tobashi:' He can also enter through his mouth himself, into a pocket of darkness, with a raven's skull floating beneath him. A demonic raven's head appears wherever he wishes it in the real world, serving as an entrance to the dimension, and can expulse his attacks, including dark energy that creates that world. He can use this as a slow teleportation technique, or to fight through *'Akui:' This attack creates a burst of black and whitish gold fire, which destroys whatever it hits before it hits it, meaning whatever had happened concerning that object in an amount of time based on the attack's strength never happened. It prevents them from being resurrected as well. Demon Form Josho can enter his full demon form at will, but cannot control it completely, losing command of himself at some times. In this form, he becomes a gigantic three-legged raven-like creature, with tufts of feathers resembling fur at joints, as well as purple armor around his chest and head. Besides these tufts, his feathers are smooth so that it appears that they are one piece of skin. Ban'nosaiga Ban'nosaiga (万能限, Universal Fang; Omnipresent Fang) is Josho's demon blade, which he forged from the talon of his third claw, which he has subsequently regrown. It is a large straight-edged backsword which is often concealed within a staff, and has demonstrated several abilities. *'Shadow-Forming:' Ban'nosaiga may transform into a shadow blade, allowing it to cut through nearly everything, and to merge with other objects. It may also turn whatever it touches into a shadow, making it malleable and semi-tangible, making passing through it possible, as well as its absorption by Ban'nosaiga. *'Matter and Energy Sculpting:' Turning into a darker sort of shadow, Ban'nosaiga has the ability to warp whatever it comes into contact with, in both shape and essence, re-sculpting it to Josho's liking. This is not limited to solid matter, as it has been shown to affect even oxygen around the blade, if Josho so wills it, and can even warp energy such as yoki in the same fashion. Quotes Category:Protagonists